ISLAMABAD: Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani on Thursday took up the issue of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Altaf Hussain’s anti-Pakistan activities with Speaker of the House of Lords Lord Fowler at Westminster in London.

Also, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khurshid Shah warned the federal government and the “establishment” against any plan to ban the MQM.

According to an official handout issued by the Senate secretariat, Mr Rabbani asked the newly elected speaker of the House of Lords to prevent the use of British soil for the “export of violence” in Pakistan.

Lord Fowler had assumed office on Thursday morning and his meeting with Mr Rabbani was his first official engagement.

The Senate chairman, who is on a five-day official visit to the UK, raised the issue with the speaker two days after the Pakistan government sent a reference against the MQM’s beleaguered leader to the British authorities seeking action against him for inciting violence in Pakistan.

The interior ministry had sent to the British authorities Mr Hussain’s Aug 22 speech and evidence proving that he provoked people to violence.

The reference says that Mr Hussain has violated British and international laws and, therefore, action should be initiated against him under the British laws for inciting violence and spreading unrest in Pakistan.

The Senate chairman also drew the attention of the Lord speaker to the blatant violation of human rights in India-held Kashmir. He spoke of the hundreds of deaths and injuries to the innocent civilians at the hands of the Indian troops. He particularly highlighted the use of pellet bullets by the Indian forces as a result of which hundreds of children had lost their eyesight.

The chairman also spoke of the importance of parliamentary diplomacy in building and strengthening relationship between Pakistan and the UK and called for exchange of delegation of members of parliament.

NA opposition leader

Talking to reporters at his Parliament House chamber, PPP’s Khurshid Shah said that there was no need to impose a ban on the MQM after its leaders’ categorical announcements that they had nothing to do with Altaf Hussain after his Aug 22 speech.

“The federal government and the establishment should not even think of banning the MQM,” he said, adding that the party must be given an opportunity to carry out its political activities.

He was of the view that things would automatically become clearer in six months’ time. He said that anyone who supported Altaf Hussain would be considered an “enemy of the country”.

Mr Shah said that an MQM delegation had met him recently and assured him that they had distanced themselves from Altaf Hussain. He said whosoever kept a secret contact with Mr Hussain would soon be exposed before the public.

Mr Shah had, during his meeting with the UK high commissioner in Pakistan on Tuesday, also raised the issue of Mr Hussain’s anti-Pakistan activities.

Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2016